Joy.

After a couple of weeks of windy, snowy, blizzardy weather, yesterday’s sunny 12 degree loveliness meant I could skip town for the day and claim my brand new Ashford Traveller.

It was waiting for me at London-Wul, the same place from which I bought my loom. I can’t say enough good things about the shop. Part of it is the owner, who is fabulous, and part of it is the shop itself. I love the atmosphere–it feels as much like a creative workshop/studio as a store. If I lived in Moncton again and had reliable transportation, I’m sure I’d visit on a regular basis.

I am not ashamed to admit that, by the time I saw the Moncton exit on the highway, I was so gleeful that I was nearly bouncing in my seat. Great Big Sea’s Sea of No Cares was in the disc player, too, so that may have contributed to my mood. Maybe.

When I get a chance to take a day trip, I usually linger around the city for as long as possible, visiting all the places I used to go when I lived there. Not this time. I made three stops–London-Wul, Cricket Cove, Chapters–then I ducked into Champlain Place just long enough to get something to eat before starting for home, with the Ashford box buckled into the passenger seat beside me.

At home, it occurred to me halfway through wheel assembly that I hadn’t even taken off my boots.

Oops.

So! Yarn. Lumpy, uneven beginner yarn that kinks up like a crazy thing when not under tension, but yarn nonetheless. It’s a start.

I’ve already discovered that wheel treadles solve the biggest problem I had with my drop spindle, and that is: not having a third hand. Using my feet, instead, especially when I have some experience with treadle-operated sewing machines, is quite comfortable. Except that I need to practice doing it more slowly–my hands aren’t fast enough yet to keep up. Heh.

I’ve also already discovered that smacking wet, newly spun & plied yarn against a wall is immensely satisfying, especially when it makes a loud crack.

The first little skein is drying, now, and I’ve spun another. The wool is rustic yet not too coarse, but I’m not sure what breed of sheep it came from. I ended up with 98g and it appears to be around aran-weight; with it, I might either knit a pair of mitts or weave a scarf.

Brown is an underrated colour. I love it, especially when it’s more warm than cool.

So, about those other two stops I made in the city. I put aside some extra money for the trip for a reason.

I always stop at Cricket Cove when I’m there, mostly to say hello to the people I used to work with but also because, well, it’s a pretty yarn shop. I spent more time chatting than looking at yarns, but when I left, I did have one of the shop’s cute polka-dot bags in my hand.

Chapters is also a must-visit, because ginormous bookstores please me. I bought a bunch of novels the last time I was there and still have a few to read, so this time I headed straight for the knitting section. I lucked out, and the books I’d been most looking forward to were in stock, as well as the spring Interweave Knits.

First photo, from bottom right: TimiQuipa sportweight alpaca, Koigu KPPPM, DB Baby Cashmerino, Heidi’s by Hand semi-solid hand-dyed sock yarn (from London-Wul), Noro Silk Garden Lite, and a sweater’s worth of Cascade 220.

Second photo, from right: It Itches (from London-Wul), Knitted Lace of Estonia, Boutique Knits, Custom Knits, and the spring Interweave. The hard part will be deciding what to knit first.

While I’m at it, I’ll share one last photo. I placed an order with Pick Up Sticks over the holidays, and it went missing; Canada Post did a search and concluded it was lost for good, so I got store credit to replace my yarn. The parcel arrived a couple of days ago–gorgeous Dream in Color Classy in Strange Harvest.

Much as I love it, I’ll be setting it (and the red Cascade 220) aside for the spring. Thanks in part to the solving of a couple of minor medical mysteries and in part to my renewed motivation, my weight-loss quest is starting to meet with success for the first time in a decade. Rather than guessing at sizes, I’m going to wait until the end of the summer before casting on for new sweaters. I won’t have lost all the weight I want to lose by then, but I should be at least at the halfway mark if all goes well.

And now I want to go play with my wheel again. If I can decide what to spin, that is. I do have a nice little stash of fibre, but I think some of it should be saved until I can spin worth a damn.